An ultra-cheap effort that tries to generate laughs from a doofus Tae Kwon Do teacher's obliviousness and buffoonery, filmmaker Jody Hill's The Foot Fist Way stars Danny McBride as Fred Simmons, an abrasive, self-promoting, incredibly dense martial-arts instructor who owns an improbably successful school in a small-town strip mall. Although Fred harangues and bullies his students, they remain loyal—unlike his obviously unfaithful blonde bombshell wife (Mary Jane Bostic). Of course, Fred's attention is so focused on his dojo that he doesn't notice her wandering eye, until his visiting idol, the low-rent star of some Z-quality DVD chopsocky movies, comes on to her, leading to the inevitable face-off. The Foot Fist Way aims for a Napoleon Dynamite-like vibe, inviting viewers to laugh at the lead character's clueless attitude, but while Napoleon had a naïve sweetness, there's nothing remotely redeeming about Fred Simmons, whose total lack of self-knowledge is matched only by his brutish, aggressive personality. In a phrase: Tae Kwon Don't. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Jody Hill, star Danny McBride, and production designer Randy Gambill, 20 deleted and extended scenes (31 min.), a 25-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, two minutes of bloopers, a brief alternate ending, and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a lame comedy.] (F. Swietek)
The Foot Fist Way
Paramount, 82 min., R, DVD: $29.99, Sept. 23 Volume 23, Issue 4
The Foot Fist Way
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: